Quote of the Day

	“That’s not me (pointing to his file). You’ve got to be kidding if you think that’s me. Spend a couple of days with me and maybe you’ll begin to know who I am.” — Don, age 18 Five years ago Don was an appealing wise-cracking youngster, small for his age, but obviously perceptive and intelligent. Now he is a young adult, in appearance at least, and he has become reserved, withdrawn, very fidgety, and easily provoked into frightening anger. Most of the time he has contempt for professional helpers and their reports, but lately he’s worried enough about his intense, hair-trigger rage that he thinks he should talk to a psychiatrist. He’s in jail awaiting trial for a drug charge. Don came into care when he was eight because his mother was murdered and his father had long since deserted. He was made a permanent ward and for the next ten years was placed in a staggering number of foster homes and group homes. He had regular psychiatric treatment because it was assumed that he would have severe emotional trauma about his mother’s death. This was his "treatment" focus as he was moved from place to place. The fact that he is currently in jail may seem a sign that the treatment failed. A far more significant fact, however, is that from a group of at least thirty caretakers (foster parents, social workers, child care workers, etc.) no one, not one has maintained an interest in him. He is a classic example of foster care "drift". He says on tape, “I don’t get close to anyone anymore” as if he’s reached a normal developmental stage. He sits on the other side of the plexiglass talking into the telephone about his intention to kill a friend who has spent six hundred dollars belonging to him. He chain smokes, he pushes his shoulder-length hair out of his eyes, and he once in a while betrays that he knows that he’s absolutely alone. Research in the child welfare field in the last two decades has essentially confirmed what most practitioners already feared. While we can take heart that many children have been protected from abuse and neglect, we must be discouraged by the evidence about what happens to children after they are taken into care. The best, and now classic studies (Jenkins and Norman, 1972; Gruber, 1978; Knitzer, 1978; Rowe, 1973; Fanshell and Shin, 1978) have substantiated that children typically "drift" in care without a sense of where they are headed, and often, presumably, without a sense of attachment to any significant adult. Similarly, the two books by J. Goldstein et al., Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (1973) and Before the Best Interests of the Child (1979) have been of considerable influence in the evolution of the concept of permanency planning and the emergence of the important practice principles promoting stability and continuity of care in placements of children in care. Their contribution is highlighted by their reference to the concept of the ‘psychological parent’, an idea which lends support to preserving those situations wherein children and adults sense a constructive emotional attachment. They contend that such relationships, whether blood ties or not, are fundamental for optimal child development. This concept, according to the authors, provides perhaps the only solid predictive criterion for subsequent growth of children. They contend that other theory and information about children is less reliable, which leads to their second important argument, that of choosing the least disruptive alternative if protective intervention is required. Again the implication is clear. When there is already in place a constructive relationship between a child and adult(s), we must do our best to support and preserve it. If it is not there, then our task is to do everything possible to facilitate the creation of a new ‘psychological’ relationship.
	— JIM ALLISON Allison, J. (1984) The Who Cares young people. Journal of Child Care, vol.2 (2). pp.61-62